Sunny Summer Day

I really like this Indonesian band - gentlish indie pop, jangly (nah, jangly sounds too boisterous for this), slightly outta tune guitars, distant-sounding vocals... twee, is it? I dunno, but this song's well soothing, with a dreamy, loving message all the way through, like letters in a stick of rock - sweet as you like.

♫ You're The One For Me - Sunny Summer Day
Me, Myself & The Empty Soul (2008)
buy | myspace




If you have any trouble playing the mp3 - my cheapo webhost seems to be messing about tonight : they swear it's all working fine, but I'm sure having trouble.

Chase Pagan - Life Garden

I only heard of Chase Pagan about a month ago, and was initially intrigued, rather than excited about the music - that soon changed though, & I'm looking forward to hearing what the new album - Bells & Whistles sounds like. What I've heard so far is a real trip down memory lane for me, not retro or in the style of... exactly, just pleasingly familiar yet original, perhaps a nod here, a salute there, to lots of different artists. More recently, if you like these Chase Pagan songs, you might just be keen on Marizane too, not that the vocal style is remotely similar.

Here's two from the album, if you're anything like me you'll need more than just fingers to count the welcome musical reminders; modern, nostalgic pop-rock is it? - dunno, but I'm well impressed. Seen some reviews griping about his voice grating right away - but I don't gettit, you?.

♫ Life Garden - Chase Pagan

♫ Gun and the Sword - Chase Pagan
Bells & Whistles (June 9 on Esperanza Plantation)
myspace | pre-order



♫ Waltzing in the Sky - Chase Pagan
Oh, Musica! (2007)
buy

Chase has a couple of gigs coming up - I'm intrigued to know what he does live, given that he plays most all of the instruments on the album...

18 May - Pianos - New York, New York
19 May - Colony Cafe - Woodstock, New York

New Hafdis Huld video

Taking a break from mind-curdling website stuff (I should be lapping it up, but my heart's very much elsewhere) - I did see that lovely, bubbly Hafdis Huld has done a sorta home-video with bits of new songs from the second album - it's great fun, although what a shame the recording budget didn't run to heating for the studio - ha ha!... perhaps they were trying to make her feel as if she was back in Iceland?.

More moving - but very slowly

Well my lovelies, further investigations into, & thoughts about, shifting this blog away from the grasp of our benevolent & wise google, have led me to the conclusion that there's no simple way to just get 'everything' as-is shuffled over somewhere else. So (snipping the reasons - see comments) I think wordpress is the way to go, & at some future point you'll be automatically directed over to howmarvellous.com, which is already up n running, but awaiting my tender & lavish attention as regards colour, layout & the swanny pic.

**dull tech alert** the main thing I'll miss from blogger, is those dandy snapshots of recently updated blogs, over on the right - so if any of you geniuses know how to get that in wordpress... you'll earn my undying gratitude & more besides.

We'd better have some music eh? - gotta start with Sammy Davis; after pinching an album yesterday for 'Something's Gotta Give', I so enjoyed hearing this one again, which was a favourite from a long-lost mixtape I made for myself, perhaps twenty years ago. It's another show tune - this time from The Pajama Game, intended to be sung by a man to himself, via a tape recorder, which goes some way to explaining the happy tone, despite not-exactly cheery lyrics. No special sentiment for including this - it's just damned fine.

♫ Hey There - Sammy Davis Jr
buy

While I'm on a slightly more personal thing - rather than the thin pretence that I've got my finger on any kind of musical pulse - I completely skipped the booze last night... highly unusual. If this tune sounds kinda familiar - we've a nice connection to Okkervil River, whose cover 'Do What You Gotta Do' I included yesterday.
♫ If You Stay Sober - Shearwater
The Dissolving Room (2001)
out of print, but get a couple more songs free here | Shearwater website

Let's keep the connections flowing - Adler and Ross wrote 'Hey There' above, and another from 'The Pajama Game' that you might recall... here in very cheesy, over-castanetted form, by the Archie Bleyer band
♫ Hernando's Hideaway - Archie Bleyer
buy
Ha ha - it's kinda bad, but I love it so much - a childhood memory y'see?.


No immediate connection I can think of, beyond the bleedin' obvious - but it'll please at least one very occasional commenter & Esther Phillips fan. This is a Johnny Nash composition - and pretty darned sexy with it - mmm M~ !
♫ Let's Move & Groove - Esther Phillips
Alone Again Naturally (1972)
buy

Finally - a song from the year before that (1971) by one of my absolute musical loves - Dory Previn. 'Going Home' is a sorta medley of two other songs from the very same album - 'Mythical Kings & Iguanas'... the title track, and a repeated line from 'Lady With The Braid' - which us just sooo divine. (it starts very quietly, btw)
♫ Going Home - Dory Previn
Mythical Kings & Iguanas (1971)
buy

Can I leave it there? - frankly No, so throwing caution to the wind - here are those two songs - Splendid indeed.

♫ Mythical Kings & Iguanas - Dory Previn

♫ Lady With The Braid - Dory Previn

Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers - the pollyanna ep

If you were fortunate enough to have made an Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers gig in the past, you'd have likely come away with a copy of 'the polllyanna ep' free of charge - three very fine songs - as Ann says "The purpose was to introduce people to our music, have a shinier and more complete package than a demo, but still...succinct. Perfect for the short-attention span!". Feeling deprived like me? - well, they've kindly agreed to let me make the songs available here - such nice people.

If you can make Brooklyn - there's a gig at Southpaw on 28 May - details here, and a residency at Rockwood Music Hall - NYC, 9PM every Wednesday in June.

♫ Deadweight

♫ Glass Eye

♫ Music Box

Get 'the pollyanna ep' on CD from CDbaby & definitely have a listen to/download three songs from their new 'Crocodile' album, which is released today by The Cougar Label on CD or as 256K mp3s - I can hardly recommend it enough. Share some love with 'em on myspace or facebook too.


Crocodile:
Perfect Medicine
Don't Be a Fading Bruise
Nothing On Me
I Keep a Pilot Light
Merteuil
Nice & Quiet
Strong Arm
Shut Your Mouth
Down for the Winter
Chickenscratch

moving times (and some free albums)

After another dmca takedown by blogspot's automated goons, I'm gonna try switching to publish this blog at my own howmarvellous.com domain, which may or may not stop those occasional irritations... and if not - it's Wordpress time.
In theory... you'll notice no difference at all, save an initial blogger redirect page & the domain name in your browser - in fact by the time you read this, the change may be done & dusted (fat chance!); but please bear with me if things go awry, either here or via the rss feed.

I'm strangely nervous about it - very odd given how I love a challenge... much more going round than just that, I guess; & hmm, I tried it just now & the blogspot address redirected, but got a page not found error - do I have to wait longer for the CNAME record to propogate?, do that first, wait a day, then change the blogspot setting? - I'm slightly lost, and I don't like it one bit.

Two versions of this Jimmy Webb song to start with - far as I can tell, first recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1967, with Webb producing & arranging the album - Rewind.
♫ Do What You Gotta Do - Meg Baird
Dear Companion (2007)
buy

♫ Do What You Gotta Do - Okkervil River
Golden Opportunities Mixtape (2007)
free download from pitchfork | myspace

♫ We Gotta Get Out Of This Place - The Animals (UK version)
7" single - 1965 on Columbia
buy

♫ Things Will Change - Dawn Chorus
The Disappearing Dawn Chorus (2003)
free n legal download - here along with their 'Second Dawn Chorus' album | myspace

♫ Gotta Cheer Up Now - Cotton Jones
Paranoid Cocoon
buy from Suicide Squeeze | myspace

♫ Something's Gotta Give - Sammy Davis Jr
written by Johnny Mercer for Daddy Longlegs (1955)
buy

Already pushing it with The Animals, I don't want Warner on my case again - so here's a Sparks video that they (wmg) haven't been able to get knocked off youtube... yet.

Pirate Love

These debonair & dapper-looking chaps from Oslo in Norway, create a sound that's anything but - although it is surely the perfect antidote to an overdose of sickly-sweetness, in any form. Too much twee from Scandinavia? - knock back a few shots of Pirate Love - that'll fix what ails you. They must be wonderful seen in the right sorta small, smoky venue (are there any left?), but I bet they don't wear those jumpers.

♫ Sick Of You - Pirate Love

♫ The Lonely Streets - Pirate Love

from Black Vodoun Space Blues (2008 on Kong Tiki Records)
buy | myspace

KaiserCartel

Hmm, trawling through the last of recent backed-up emails yielded very little in the way of new music to raise spirits here, but did lead indirectly to a Brooklyn based duo - KaiserCartel who were a pleasure to belatedly discover.

Courtney Kaiser & Benjamin Cartel are the couple who make up the twosome (and the name, obviously) & between them use vocals, guitars, baby xylophone, drums & some keyboards to turn out a sound that puts plenty of four-piece bands to shame - and they can do it live too, by all accounts, and also to judge from the 'Live from Breakthru Radio EP', which was recorded live,as you might expect. Which maybe goes to show that it's what you do, and who you do it with, rather than how many instruments & players you can cram on a recording or stage - there's nothing wasted here, no needless noodling around - just enough to frame some tremendously moving songs & lovely two-part harmonies. Sweet as can be... & made for sharing with someone.

♫ Okay

♫ Alone With You
from Double Standard EP (2005) - which you might still be able to buy at CDbaby

♫ Favorite Song
Live From Breakthru Radio EP (2007)
buy from 75 or Less Records, if there's any left.

and the same song, subtly fleshed out, plump but not overstuffed. "You're my favorite song, I wanna sing it again" - Oh! I surely do.
♫ Favorite Song (Minneapolis Version)
Okay (And Other Things We Feel) (2008)
buy from amazon or KaiserCartel.com


Finally, from last year's album - March Forth - a wonderful song written by Tracy Thielen, given a great intensifying performance; the lil' outta-tune guitar parts are sublime.
♫ Oh No

and yep, same song as at the start - interesting to hear the different treatment, I think - the much deeper drumming gives it an ominous air this time round.
♫ Okay
both from March Forth (2008)
amazon | KaiserCartel.com




Go say hi to KaiserCartel at their myspace, and if you can make any of these gigs - I'm sure it'll be a treat.

3 May Armadillo’s Burritos - Keene - New Hampshire
4 May Red Door - Portsmouth - New Hampshire
6 May Southpaw / Deli Magazine Festival - Brooklyn - New York
9 May Cedar Cultural Center - Minneapolis - Minnesota
10 May The Frequency - Madison - Wisconsin
11 May Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines - Iowa
12 May The Dark Room - Chicago - Illinois
13 May BrilloBox - Pittsburgh

The Dandy Warhols: Earth To The Remix - Vol 2

Seeing The Dandy Warhols twitter about mp3 quality a few days ago, my interest was sparked to take a look at what's on offer on their website... well - quite apart from completely free full downloads of both Earth to the Dandy Warhols and Odditorium or Warlords of Mars in 192K (along with an iTunes link to buy the things in lower quality - ha!) there's the second of two remix EP's - Earth To The Remix Vol 2, which as well as the first one can also be downloaded or streamed in very reasonable mp3 quality,before you lay out a terrifying $3.49 for the lossless files; stream below, buy at their website, but err, if 192K (edit - make that 320K - yipes!) is adequate for your ears - get them for nothing while stocks last.

Welcome generosity or oversight? - whatever, here's a track from last years album, all the rest are on their website if you ain't heard 'em before.

♫ The Legend of The Last of the Outlaw Truckers AKA the Ballad of Sherriff Shorty - The Dandy Warhols
...Earth to the Dandy Warhols (2008)
buy

Black Moth Super Rainbow

Still playing catch-up here, and likely will be for some time to come - this is the first time I've come across Black Moth Super Rainbow, and it'd probably be fair to say that I very much like some of what I've heard, particularly this recent track from their next album - Eating Us. You'd have to call it psychedelic pop I guess, which is a broad church, right enough; BMSR seem to sit mostly  on the laid-back, slightly meandering side of the aisle, verging on gentle shoegaze even... & with that in mind, I reckon the first one here'd pair quite nicely with the Dead Leaf Echo track from a couple of weeks ago.

♫ Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise - Black Moth Super Rainbow
Eating Us (due 26 May on Graveface Records)
pre-order from insound | myspace

♫ Forever Heavy - Black Moth Super Rainbow

♫ Sun Lips - Black Moth Super Rainbow

both from Dandelion Gum (2007)
buy on CD or 2xLP from Graveface

Spandau Ballet

It may have been just me? - but the Kemp brothers appeared to still be living out The Krays in some fashion on Jonathan Ross last night - watch it on youtube & see if it has an air of 'The Firm' - reunited, with the same old lags in charge - for you too.

They did usefully remind me of dashing off to the pub after Top of the Pops all those years ago, to swap opinions (between underaged beers) about their first few singles, and (if I remember correctly), share disappointment over 'True', 'Gold' & subsequent releases. Quite striking actually, how the recollections flooded back of seeing them mime along with 'To Cut A Long Story Short' - I'd clean forgotten how good it was, and how intriguing their dalliance with New Romanticism was... not just for impressionable nippers like me.

They were crap later though, weren't they? - another "prefer the earlier stuff, myself", if ever there was one. There's also something off-putting about all these bands from my near-childhood reforming for another last hurrah - thanks for the memories n all that, but enough already. A glowing personal recommendation then; roll up, roll up - get yer Autumn tour tickets here & buy all their old records while you still can.

♫ To Cut A Long Story Short - Spandau Ballet
Journeys to Glory (1981 - single release in 1980)
buy | SpandauBallet.com

♫ The Last of the Famous International Playboys - Morrissey
Bona Drag (1990 - single release in '89)
buy

Winter Gloves

Predictably, I'm nearly three weeks late with this Winter Gloves cover of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', and aside from my recently oppressive listlessness & languor, I blame the kids' voices, which rather spoil it for me. Shades of 'Another Brick in the Wall' perhaps? - an unwelcome association for sure, since I've an irrationally large dislike of that song, for reasons long since forgotten, but which now seem fixated on the little buggers. Curious eh - 'Excerpt From a Teenage Opera' = Good, 'Brick in the Wall' = Bad; go figure... answers on the back of a postcard or sealed-down envelope to the usual address.

Disregarding the parts I don't care for (enormous understatement there), I really love Winter Gloves' take on the song - way more than the original, which I've got a great big soft spot for, but don't really know why - could be simply the repeated Hello's, which to this day, put Paul Francis Gadd in mind; I dunno, maybe I'd be happier if it was about deodorant, hey-ho.

Should you share my mixed feelings about the Winter Gloves version - I suggest a: seek professional help, & b: don't let it stop you from enjoying their album - about a girl - because it's very good indeed.

♫ Smells Like Teen Spirit - Winter Gloves

♫ Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Nevermind (1991)
buy

♫ I Can't Tell You - Winter Gloves
About a Girl (2008)
buy | myspace | Winter Gloves website




Some dates remaining on Winter Gloves shortish US tour:
Apr 28 - Tractor Tavern, Seattle, Washington
Apr 30 - Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, California
May 1 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, California
May 11 - DC9, Washington, Washington DC
May 13 - Mercury Lounge, New York, New York

A clear-out

I'm getting cluttered again - far too many files on the desktop, an absolute ton of decent new music, and a finely disorganised mind to manage it with. Yet another major tidy-up is essential, and if I don't get some of this out there, it'll be mired forever in the wetlands of my computer - which'd be a shame; so brevity is my main weapon today... how unexpected.

I know next to nothing about these guys, save their being from New Zealand, and producing this fine example of what your average radio-telescope should really be searching for.
♫ 'The Knucks - kazaamBLAM! (feat. Alphabethead)
myspace | free download from kazaamblam.com


Wow - why's no-one told me about Meho Plaza before? - definitely one to investigate if 'The Beach' is any indication, although after a quick trawl, I do like the poppier ones like this much more than the other, less obviously structured tracks, or the Remix EP, for that matter.
♫ The Beach - Meho Plaza
Meho Plaza (2008)
myspace | buy from Better Looking Records

♫ We'll Drink the Blood - Meho Plaza (Nopse remix)
Remix EP (2009)
buy | Nopse on myspace


Along with the new 'Crazy Power' album & 'Shivering Black' EP - Josh Reichmann Oracle Band have recorded a cover of Deerhunter's 'Agoraphobia' which is lurking on 7" vinyl somewhere, with 'Shivering Black' on the other side. I've heard it's on the EP, but no mention on the Paper Bag Records site beyond the elusive single release.
♫ Agoraphobia - Josh Reichmann Oracle Band

♫ Shivering Black - Josh Reichmann Oracle Band
Shivering Black EP (2009)
myspace | buy from Paper Bag Records

And for the sake of completeness - remind yourself of the rather more calming original
♫ Agoraphobia - Deerhunter
Microcastle (2008)
buy | myspace

Loads more to get through, but having been woken at 4AM, by some git road-testing a very loud scooter past the house this morning (several times, and exceedingly annoying) and then finding it impossible to sleep... I rather fancy an afternoon nap, just like the cat.

Spring cleaning & plumbing

Well, I had an unusually active, yet music-less day yesterday - having to shift half the living-room furniture so my pal could plumb in a new radiator to replace the flaky-paint one that's been there, dropping huge curls of white-gloss, for ooh, ten years or more. Worst thing was (aside from the vast amount of dust & cat hairs), it meant removing the computer, which aside from a super-cool 1950's HMV snake-skin record player in another room, is the only source of music here - so a muted morning & afternoon was the result.

I took the opportunity to dismantle the iMac & clean out years of accumulated dust & fluff from the fans within, which'll hopefully calm down the all too frequently annoying roar as the temperature rises; also forced myself to do some belated hoovering & dusting, as well as finding another space for two of the far too many old valve radios that are knocking about the place. One of 'em's pretty dull in terms of appearance & style, but it's loved because the original cardboard packing with printed Bush logo is up in the attic, complete with a railway ticket attached - from the days when you could just breeze up to a station & send something anywhere in the country... someone was probably very pleased to receive it.

♫ Dust Me Off - Tilly and The Wall
O (2008)
buy | myspace

♫ Everybody's Got A Collection - The 1900s (outtake)
Cold & Kind (2007)
buy | myspace

♫ Keep It Clean - Camera Obscura
Underachievers Please Try Harder (2003)
buy | myspace

♫ Dirty - The Ettes
Shake the Dust (2006)
buy | myspace

♫ Oh Lately It's So Quiet - OK Go
Oh No (2005)
buy | OKGo.net

♫ (You're My) Radio One - Henry's Dress
Henry's Dress EP (1995)
buy from Slumberland Records

Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers - Crocodile out on 28 April

Weirdly, it seems an absolute age since I raved about Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers, here, and I suppose it is nearly seven weeks. Anyhow, it prompted me to have another few listens & see if they still measured up to my own err, hype.
Happily enough, they surely done-did - better than ever, to be honest, and I've mentally painted myself into a corner trying to think of something new & insightful to say, but don't hold your breath eh.

I love the alternative torch song imagery of 'Fading Bruise' - "...come and make me black & blue - can't you see I need a good talking to?" and  Pilot Light "I keep a pilot light burning in my chest, in the hope that you'll lean in, and light your cigarette".  'Nothing On Me' is splendidly sultry (although I could say that about a number of the songs), and has some wicked drums on it; 'Merteuil' (the title track, if you listen) slows things down beautifully & really shows off Ann's voice, before leading nicely into the charms & promises of 'Nice & Quiet' - but you won't believe a word of them - the delivery says something different, I reckon.

'Strong Arm' gets quite a jazzy rock feeling going for me, with some excellent guitar playing, & in turn, contrasts well with the acerbic observations on an initially sparse-sounding 'Shut Your Mouth', which reminds me how underused violins (rather than chamber'y 'string' sounds) are in popular music - as here, they can lend some real atmosphere, as do the doubled vocals. No strings on 'Down for the Winter' though, but it's likely the gentlest, most soulful song on the album - I want to say hymnal, which isn't quite right, but there's a near-religious quality about it; a very tender paean to secluded moments & places - at once melancholy, loving, & reverential.

Finally - 'Chickenscratch' has one of many memorable lyrics for me - "...can't blame the ink in the pen, if it was just whimsy when you marked it; who will tell when you're dead, it was just half-hearted?...", and in a way, captures what's so enjoyable about Crocodile - the lyrical depth & emotion revealed, either by a close listen, or even better, when it just reaches out & grabs you; not exactly unexpectedly, given such a voice as Ann's, but a long way from shoved in yer face - it's refreshing to have the choice, and all the more stimulating for it.

♫ Don't Be a Fading Bruise

♫ I Keep a Pilot Light

♫ Merteuil

all from Crocodile - released April 28 on The Cougar Label
buy the mp3 album from Amazon or get the CD from Cougar or ideally - get along to the album launch in NYC on Saturday 25th : 10PM at Rockwood Music Hall, which sounds like a cool little venue to me, just the sorta place I like.


Crocodile tracklist:
Perfect Medicine
Don't Be a Fading Bruise
Nothing On Me
I Keep a Pilot Light
Merteuil
Nice & Quiet
Strong Arm
Shut Your Mouth
Down for the Winter
Chickenscratch


make friends with Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers at their myspace or facebook pages - and check out their website too.

Jarvis Cocker - Angela

I've been sitting on this for a few days now, because I really did not care for it at first, it's only begun to grow on me while sticking this post together, and what was gonna be an "I love Jarvis, but this is crap..." thing, has turned into "mmm it's rather good actually", albeit in a garage rock kinda way that dozens of fairly unknown bands are also pretty accomplished at doing... in fact, it feels just like a classic oft-covered song by one of them.

What I still don't really get, is why it's so blimmin' quiet-sounding - first impressions were of a low-fi, lo-volume demo cut, but seemingly it's an actual album track, in finished form; and although I'm all for simplicity & a nice 'live' sound, you'll certainly have to fiddle with the volume if you stick 'Angela' on a mix tape. It remains to be seen if the whole 'Further Complications' album shares the same traits of style & sound - we gotta wait until May 18 to find out. That 'sound' is the work of Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago, who also did at least some of the recording for Mountain Battles by The Breeders in 2007, amongst many others; and I'd say you might detect a similarity or two... so I do get it, after all - ha!.

♫ Angela - Jarvis Cocker
Further Complications (May 18th 2009 on Rough Trade)
pre-order from Amazon

♫ Don't Let Him Waste Your Time - Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis (2006)
buy



Further Complications tracklist:
01. Further Complications
02. Angela
03. Pilchard
04. Leftovers
05. I Never Said I Was Deep
06. Homewrecker
07. Hold Still
08. Fuckingsong
09. Caucasian Blues
10. Slush
11. You're In My Eyes (Discosong)

Jarvis Cocker on myspace | JarvisCocker.net

Upcoming gigs:
May
29th Barcelona - Primavera Festival
31st Copenhagen - Vega

June
2nd Hamburg - Fabrik
3rd Luxembourg - Rockhal
4th Paris - Bataclan
6th Brussels - Ancienne Belgique
10th Blackpool - Empress Ballroom
12th Glasgow - ABC
14th Nottingham - Rock City
16th Brighton - Dome
17th London - Troxy

music for paedophiles?

So I'm watching last night's Louis Theroux documentary - A Place For Paedophiles - and found it somewhat unsettling, but not for the obvious reason; it was the choice of music that kept dragging my mind off to mentally finish the little excerpts of Joanna Newsom's 'Cosmia'.
It got me musing (again) about the choice of backing for tv/film, specifically upon what seemed to be a clumsy choice in this case. The little clip they used wasn't especially apposite, and whilst usefully atmospheric, the impact was lost in repetition, I thought. Perhaps it only mattered if you're a Newsom fan?, but there didn't seem any good reason for using a tune that someone might recognise, however (relatively) obscure.

♫ Cosmia - Joanna Newsom
Ys (2006)
buy

Like him or not, Louis Theroux does usually manage to inject a note or two of levity into difficult or odd subjects, but this show seemed to have been specifically edited to avoid any suggestion of humour; understandable perhaps, given the topic but the results felt stilted -neither shocking nor insightful, and almost completely lacking the wry visual & verbal observations that I hoped for, although the guy serving the iced punch came close enough I s'pose.

If you're in the UK, or have a decent proxy there, you can stream the whole programme at the BBC, otherwise there's an excerpt on youtube, below. Honestly though - a far better exploration of attitudes towards paedophiles, (and the gullibility of celebrities when they think they're doing 'good') can be found in the 2001 Brass Eye Special, which certainly wasn't afraid of using humour to illustrate a point of view, far from it.
That show got around 2500 complaints during & after it's first airing, although Channel 4 took at least one phonecall praising it, which quite took the beleaguered duty officer by surprise, I can tell you... should you care to see what the fuss was about, 'Paedogeddon' is available here.

1st Dude - Bassid

I seem to come across quite a bit of free-release elctroniccy/experimental stuff, for some reason, and much of it's not especially listenable, or even just 'interesting' for me; but I always give it a spin, & share what gets more than a couple of plays. Latest in that line, is the recent release from Astor Bell, a free netlabel based in Stockholm, who stick to 'exclusive and original electronic' music, and put everything out as 320K mp3s. It's a six-track offering by 1st Dude, an allegedly mysterious man from Wiltshire (aren't they all?), entitled 'Bassid'.

Likely I'm missing the point, but I wish the tracks were more developed - I want them to turn into something, or even just be longer, allowing the rhythms to sink in. As it is, I'm minded of extended snippets for film or tv - with the possible exception of It's-An Italian, these feel like an abbreviated tasting menu rather than rounded courses.


♫ It's-An Italian - 1st Dude

♫ Black Robin - 1st Dude

both from Bassid (2009)
a free download from Astor Bell | 1stDude website



If you like what you've heard so far - have a crack at 1st Dude's previous release - Damn B - all the tracks are downloadable.

Hugo Frusslinky - my latest, greatest obsession

In spite of recent high profile coverage of The Pirate Bay trial, which so far as results go, served only to bring the ability to download music n movies free of charge, to the attention of a great many computer users who had never previously heard of it... I'm sure there still exists, and will do for some time, a huge group of music fans, who beyond myspace & the big online stores, rarely, if ever, 'consume' music online in any way; paid for or free, legal or not - I know plenty of people (cd buying, gig-going sorts) who've never heard of elbo.ws or hypem,com, let alone the kind of blogs that those two reference - it's a whole new world to them, one they're not necessarily jumping at the chance to discover.

This sorta division between 'traditional' print & broadcast media, and the internet blog err, 'scene', cuts both ways of course, and it's possible for very talented, outstanding bands, who've been trumpeted by national radio & music press, to be unknown, or at least unmentioned, by the disparate ranks of mp3/music blogs. Slightly hard to believe, if like me, it seems that anything & everything musical comes your way via twisted copper wire or fibre-optic lines, but fortunately, there are welcome surprises; in this case, very close to home.

All of which strikes me now as a rather po-faced way of introducing an absolutely joyous band from the Isle of Wight (that's an island just off the southern coast of England, for you colonial types) - Hugo Frusslinky - who I've been listening to a great deal since stumbling across them whilst looking up The Bees a couple of weeks ago.
They've a new two-track 'EP' out, Fatty Boom Boom, which you can download/listen to below, or buy as a CD direct from the band... what are they like? - well, why look for words when you can hear for yourselves?, and anyway, I'm short on descriptors & comparisons lately, cutting back again for the recession, see?.

Actually, my favourite song is just a demo so far - I really love this to bits; on vinyl I swear it'd be knackered already.
♫ Holiday

Here's the two tracks from the EP
♫ Fatty Boom Boom

♫ Cowtown
ain't that an amazing flute solo on Cowtown?

Hear more, & make friends with Hugo Frusslinky on myspace | buy the Fatty Boom Boom EP on CD via email

Heather McCallum - Vocals/Guitar/Flute

Jono_not_Bono - Guitar

Rob Light - Bass

Jord Pennant - Drums




Seems a good place to add how impressive the guitar is on all the six tracks I've got - big, crisp & right in yer face without being the least bit overcooked... a bit like Heather's vocals to be honest, both of which rely on some tremendously tight drums and bass, oh what the hell, everyone's good - ok?.

Here's a few gigs they've got lined up, wish there were more on the mainland, partly cuz last night I had a nightmare where every last thing went wrong while I tried to get to Ryde for the next one... only a dream, I know, but I was on my hands & knees crawling to the station - weird eh?.

22 May - The Wight Rock Bar - Ryde - IOW
30 May - Milton Keynes ... more details soon
14 June - IOW Festival
11 Sept - Bestival - IOW

Beer is Best

So claimed The Brewers Society in the 1930's, a popular sentiment echoed by Robert Weston & Bert Lee in The Beefeater, but they wouldn't get away with any such thing these days, oh no; not in an advertisement, anyway. A wild claim? - not if a recent ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority is anything to go by - they "...concluded that the poster breached the Code by suggesting that the beer could increase confidence." That's this poster below, in case you've not seen it already.


Shocking eh - How grateful we in the UK are, to be looked after with such dilligence, that after a whopping three complaints, they pull an ad', not for it's piss-weak humour or dreary stereotypes, but for supposedly espousing a truth which is pretty much self-evident to anyone who's ever let a drop of alcohol past their lips. Good Grief!, I knew they'd banned ads showing that beer err, got you drunk (in a positive way, it's fine to show stumbling, slurring fools), or made you look like batchelor Johnny Cool, but this is really silly. I wonder sometimes, if like aspects of local & national government, the ASA & TV complaints departments operate solely to allow the very few to impress their crackpot views on the rest of us... where do I sign up?.

♫ Passwords & Alcohol - Kinski
Down Below It's Chaos (2007)
buy | myspace

♫ Restorative Beer - The Fiery Furnaces
Widow City (2007)
buy | myspace

♫ Your Protector - Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes (2008)
buy | myspace

Oh, for some clarity

Hell's bells, I've got the fuzziest of minds today, an inability to grasp anything much at all, which ain't a whole bunch of use when dealing with the trifling intricacies of websites & domain names & nameservers & other boring things. Nothing too odd about that, you'd think, but normally I thrive on such technicalities & struggle instead to express things in words; yet the past days have seen me mentally glaze over when faced with anything I don't already know the answer to... ho-hum, these clouds'll part, no doubt, although I do find it very unsettling & aggravating, to put it mildly.

Anyhoo, for those of you foolish enough to come here more than once, there'll eventually be a websitey blog thing at howmarvellous.com instead of/as well as/I dunno yet here on blogspot, which is of little import right now save that should I suddenly get another rash of dmca takedowns & find myself kicked off this place (unlikely I know, but hey).... you'll know where to look for further sparkling wit & incisive social commentary eh? - hmm, right. Cheques, cash, chocolates & lavish promo invites may continue to be sent to the usual address, & will receive my full attention, as always.

Whilst we're on a mildly personal, rather than "This band good - buy records" (in a Tarzan voice) trip, I have to boast of having some of my own music, from many years ago, mentioned on siblingshot on the bleachers yesterday, which is nice... I do enjoy ib's considered, concise, writing; his blog has the air of a not too hushed, regularly changing museum exhibition for me, hard to explain properly, but you'll come away with much more than mp3s I reckon.

Righto - couple of tunes, then on with the housework...

♫ Clear and True - Rainer Maria
Catastrophe Keeps Us Together (2006)
buy | myspace

♫ Clouds Are Moving - The Record's
Money's On Fire (2008)
buy | myspace

♫ Everything I Cannot See - Charlotte Gainsbourg
5:55 (2006)
buy | myspace

♫ Visions of a Troubled Mind - J.Tillman
Cancer and Delirium (2008)
buy | myspace

♫ The Invisible Sights of a Newplace - The Raves
The Invisible Sights of a Newplace (2008)
myspace

♫ Open Your Eyes - The Victims
No Thanks To The Human Turd EP (1978)
myspace

Get Carter

I must have movies on the brain, currently, although beyond channel five shoot 'em ups, I've not seen one in an age, which is a bit of a shame, and something else I should remedy. Anyhow, tonight's one I won't watch (or probably last night's, by the time I finish prevaricating) is the wonderful Get Carter from 1971, featuring Michael Caine at his best, and some of the most memorable scenes & dialogue in British cinema, for my money.

You're not gonna get a in depth analysis out of me, but I still can't help but squirm at the second scene - distasteful London gang bosses laughing at each other's weak jokes while they watch pornographic slides, little glimpses of unease on the face of the floozy, some sort of disgust on Jack's, the tacky musical decanter holder that Carter pours himself a drink from. Then that great train journey North - drugs, dinner, & Raymond Chandler, the blackness of railway tunnels intruded on by stark white credits. Bloody hell, just the first few minutes are memorable & a perfect set-up for what's to come - from a classy penthouse in London, first class travel, then straight into some 'orrible nostalgic boozer in Newcastle.

And where would you start with memorable quotes & scenes? too many to mention, but "piss-holes in the snow", "Good-bye Eric" and "I Know" as Jack does the stabbing, come straight to mind. Uncomfortable viewing in places, which seems only right given the content, but is something nonetheless missing from many 'violent' movies; you feel you understand why Carter does what he does, way beyond just a simple 'revenge' flick... if he said "this time it's personal...", that cliché might actually ring true, for once.

The music's great & super-jazzy-cool too, of course, being easily the most well known work from Roy Budd, and although the opening motif is what sticks in the memory, there are very fine original tunes, albeit just snippets unless you shell out for the soundtrack.

Let's start with that simple 'theme' then, and follow it with The Human League's version, which only really makes aural sense to me if followed immediately by 'I Am The Law', a very suitable segue in the context of Jack Carter's self-appointed role as detective/judge/executioner combined. I've also got two covers of the jazzy expanded one that accompanies the train journey mentioned above, as well as the original. It's all got me thinking about violence in music, how it's portrayed, and public reaction to anything even approaching the intensity shown in film; but if I ever get around to it, that's the subject of another post altogether.


♫ Intro - Roy Budd
Get Carter original soundtrack (1971)
buy

♫ Get Carter - The Human League

♫ I Am The Law - The Human League
both from Dare! (1981)
buy

♫ Get Carter - Laika And The Cosmonauts
The Amazing Colossal Band (1995)
myspace | buy

♫ Get Carter - Stereolab
Aluminum Tunes: Switched On, Vol. 3
buy | myspace

♫ Goodbye Carter! - Roy Budd
Get Carter original soundtrack (1971)
buy
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Free Albums more than well worth getting #4 - Eardrums Music

I'm listening to this now, the latest free compilation by Eardrums Music, if you've a need for two hours of marvellously varied, & consistently very fine, gentle'ish, melodic pop, suitable for Springtime; then I wholeheartedly recommend getting hold of Birdsongs, Beesongs volumes A & B. So far, there's forty songs - about two hours of ace music, with volumes C & D still to come... ffs!, does anyone sleep at Eardrums?.

What you get for your heard-earned zero bucks, is quality sounds all the way through, a nice fat pdf with pics, bios & links for every band, and some dead-good sleeve artwork for if you wanna knock up a CD package, or just to look at. It'd be pretty flamin' impressive as a commercial release, and is simply staggering when Eardrums are giving it away for free, although naturally, should you have the means, they'd be very happy if you were to give something, either by buying the artists' music, going to gigs, or supporting one of the good causes suggested.

I'm not singling out these as being better than all the rest - stone me, it's all on the up n up, but they did jump out & grab me, and that's all it takes.

♫ all happy endings - Let's Whisper
myspace

♫ Japanese Kiss - Arthur and Martha
myspace

Actually, what the hell - I'm nothing if not opinionated, so here's my favourite after a first listen; but it doesn't evoke Spring for me, not a bit of it; more of a mournful, autumnal feel.
♫ Low Rise - Tramontana
myspace

get Birdsongs, Beesongs at Eardrumspop.com, along with six other compilations... I haven't heard 'em all, but last years Summer's Here was definitely a getter, & A Good Crop sounds great, if I can judge from the first few tracks.

Today's obsession - Rosie and Me

Oh, if this isn't quite the loveliest song I've heard in ages, so intimate & wistful, sounding vulnerable yet with the promise of sweet strength "I will treat you right, I'll buy you candy bars, I'll be your fiancée, I'll walk the line and make this right, so we can be together". It makes me want to put on the headphones & keep it all to myself; beautiful.

♫ Come Back - Rosie and Me

Rosie's voice reminds me a bit of Feist, who actually, I tire of after a few songs, which certainly isn't the case here. I'd love to hear 'Come Back' recorded in a studio, with some more movement in the mix, and way less of a left-hand bias; but hey, everything's home-done, I believe, so just call me picky. Some other tracks, especially through good headphones, sound rather too demo'y in comparison to 'Come Back' and 'Old Folks (New Year)' for my ears, at least... although bung 'em on speakers and they come to life much more...

♫ Old Folks (New Year) - Rosie and Me

♫ Folkie Song #2 - Rosie and Me

hear more & make friends on their myspace & download five other songs free at last.fm

As I've said, 'Come Back' is easily-peasily the standout song for me, and was the first one I played (over & over again, as it happens); some minor remixing & I can definitely imagine it being hugely popular, getting Rosie and Me a great deal of attention. It'd be devastating placed over the right sort of touching scene in a movie or tv series, for example; such an old romantic, ain't I just?.



Rosie and Me are from Curitiba in southern Brazil; Rosie is Rosanne Machado on vocals/guitar, the Me of the band name seems to be Alex Sousa (vocals/synth/ + that great harmonica); there's also Guilherme Miranda on bass & guitar and Tiago Barbosa on drums/percussion... record labels in Brazil?, pleeese, sign them up & get an EP out before someone else does, cuz then you'll be kicking yourselves.

I love their cute musical-bird on a pipe-smoking whale logo - is the lil bird Rosie, and the puffing whale Alex?.

Free Albums well worth getting #3 - Dora Flood

These guys were suggested by my pal Merz at Mars Needs Guitars who writes a fine blog, with an absolute ton of good tunes that I've mostly never heard before, which is always nice. As much as I like reading other people's views on music, there's something extra fine about being introduced to decent bands or songs you didn't know beforehand; works for me, anyhow... so for definitely not more of the same as you'll find here, get over there & say hi.

On to the music then: the band in question is Dora Flood, who have six albums and an EP, from 1995-2008 available for free download on their website, and if a plate of dreamy rock/pop with an undeniable sideorder of psychedelia (in the left-hand dish, of course) sounds like your idea of a decent blue-plate special, then imagine yourself moonstruck, in some long-lost seventies road movie, California sun & wind in your hair, stopping at a hazy, half-remembered diner... take a seat at the counter, hear the ice clinking, and just soak it all up - this is the soundtrack.

♫ Entangled

♫ Meet Yer Maker

♫ Present Is A Place

Dream Out Your Window (2008)
buy on CD | myspace | free album download
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Should you be in California for real, Dora Flood have a couple of gigs coming up:

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Cooper's Ale Works, Nevada City, CA
opening for Spectrum, featuring Sonic Boom of the Spacemen 3

Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA
opening for Spectrum

Hafdis Huld videos

If you recall, I very much enjoyed the Hafdis Huld gig in Portsmouth a while ago, but could only mention the new songs she played; well now you can get a taste of a couple via these videos from a little acoustic session at Phoenix FM recently. I'd have closed the curtains myself, and have to say that these capture but a fraction of her bubbly off-beat charm & humour... really, really see her live if you get a chance to.

13 April - Curious Generation @ The Source Below - London
25 April - Blow Up Club - London
30 April - Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes - London

Three videos, but two new songs - the other is this delightful one, not a Hafdis original, but bloody lovely all the same.
♫ Who Loves The Sun - Hafdis Huld (Velvet Underground cover)
Dirty Paper Cup (2006)
myspace | buy

Dead Leaf Echo

Mmm - shimmering, soothing, and yes, somewhat shoegazey. Echoing guitars & swirly vocals had me digging out German Film Star by The Passions, which'd be a wildly inaccurate comparison, but there ya go, definitely something of the eighties about them. Hear more at Dead Leaf Echo's myspace, but I think they're a band that need appreciating in far higher quality than that place can offer.

♫ Act Of Truth - Dead Leaf Echo
Truth (2009)
buy | myspace

Night Of The Demon

I was commenting recently about wanting to see this movie once again, and as if by (black) magic, it's on TV here tonight, at the absurd hour of two in the morning (BBC2); naturally I've set the recordy thing to record it, since I'll be well tucked up & snoring by that time.

It's a splendid black & white bit of suspense/horror/devilry, spoilt only by the Demon actually appearing in giant puppet form at the end, moving awkwardly along a railway line, accompanied by some misplaced screechy sounds, which make it seem as if he's riding a rusty old bicycle - most unfortunate. It's a great film, despite that, and is based upon a short story by M.R James, although predictably, some liberties are taken in the retelling. There are excellent blog entries about it, with plenty of stills, at Friday Night Boys and Monster Movie Music... if you're after a comparison between book & film - try Hollywood Gothique.

Oh, and if you fancy watching it, or just seeing the rusty bike scene; go here and you can stream the whole thing. For the squeaky demon, skip right to 1hr 32m, although you'll be missing a fine piece of cinema, yes really. It's years since I saw Night Of The Demon, and I've only dipped into the opening credits & final scene; but one of the ideas I like is that the runes are only effective against those who believe in their power, and that perhaps, the demon doesn't exist at all, beyond the minds of his victims... however, the closing moments rather piss on that ember.

As always, I've some musical hats to hang tenuously on the hook, but let's start with the melodramatic opening theme & portentous voiceover.
♫ Night Of The Demon
Buy the UK and US versions on DVD.
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♫ Runes - Josh Reichmann Oracle Band
Life Is Legal EP (2009)
buy | myspace

♫ I Cannot Escape The Darkness - Those Poor Bastards
The Plague (2008)
buy | myspace

♫ Demon Dance - Susanna
Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos (2007)
buy | myspace

♫ Singing The Devil's Tune - Nick Jaina
A Narrow Way (2008)
buy | myspace

♫ The Devil Travels Fast - Moi Caprice
We Had Faces Then (2008)
buy | myspace

And if that's all too much of the occult, here's one antidote, possibly even almost appropriate on Good Friday.
♫ The Christian Life - The Louvin Brothers
Satan Is Real (1960)
buy